


Thinking of the Right Words to Say

by indevan



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Engagement, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 07:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18205286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indevan/pseuds/indevan
Summary: Raditz has something to ask Bulma





	Thinking of the Right Words to Say

Bulma had grown used to her friends barging in on her with bizarre requests.  It was part of her life at this point. Even this period of peace, longer than the last, had had some interesting visits.  Part of her thought that it was as if that the peacetime was making people antsy so she got Krillin asking her for dating advice or Tien coming around to roundabout ask what Yamcha’s favorite food was.  Silly things, some strange, but all benign and for that she was grateful. It was nothing involving the Dragon Balls. Nothing involving potential danger. To her, it was kind of a symbol of the life of banality and peace they had after Cell.

So Raditz barging in wasn’t a total surprise.  She was never quite sure what to make of the other Saiyan, one of two now left in the universe.  Bulma wanted to get to know him better because he was the person who knew Vegeta the longest, but she also knew that he liked his life out in the wilds of Mount Paozu with the revived and reformed Android Seventeen.

“Oh, hey,” she said as if him dropping by was an everyday thing. “What’s up?”

It was as strange seeing him out of his armor as it was seeing Vegeta but, she reckoned, he didn’t wear it during the Cell Saga.  He wore clothes that had clearly once been Goku’s considering how poorly they fit him. His clothes today seemed to fare better even if the flimsy tank top he wore could barely contain his chest.  She wondered if that was a Saiyan thing: either full armor or barely clothed. Maybe it was for training but she could tell that he probably wasn’t going to do much fighting in those jeans he was wearing.

“That thing you and the Prince did a while back,” he said bluntly. “With the rings.  Is that ceremony the same with two men?”

Bulma blinked at him, not sure what he meant at first.  Ceremony?

“Our wedding?” she asked.

“Whatever you called it.  The mating thing. Is it the same on this planet for two men?”

Her heart swelled for a moment.  Bulma loved love. She loved her friends finding love, even if they weren’t really her friends and was, in fact, her dead best friend’s brother.

“Are you thinking of proposing to Seventeen?”

He made a face. “I don’t know what the fuck that means.”

She cringed.  Technically, he had been on Earth longer than Vegeta had (revived in time to fight his former comrades by Goku, who always saw the good in everyone) but he seemed to share the same lack of desire to properly adapt to living here.

“It means you want to ask him to  _ marry you.” _

This time, his scowl deepened to the point that she could only call it a pout and the image struck her as strangely reminiscent of Goku.  She didn’t think the two of them really looked alike but that face...that was all him. It unsettled something deep in her chest. The feeling knowing he wasn’t coming back and seeing his face in Gohan, Goten, and now his brother.

“And again…”

She sighed.  She had been through this with Vegeta so she was prepared on how to discuss the nuances on human marriage to a Saiyan.  During this time, her own husband seemed to decide to make his way out of the gravity room, obviously having sensed Raditz’s power level.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with disdain.

“I’m askin’ your wife a question,” he responded. “What about it?”

“If you weren’t…” Vegeta said a word she didn’t understand.  Slowly, he was teaching her phrases in the Saiyan language but that was one she hadn’t heard before.

Raditz didn’t seem bothered by it and shrugged. “Even if I weren’t, I know she’s your mate.  And, besides, I have one.”

Bulma rolled her eyes.  Even not knowing the word, she got the gist of their conversation.

“Please.  For better or worse I chose you, Vegeta.  Anyway, Raditz was asking me about proposing to Seventeen.”

“I still don’t know what that means.”

She explained it to him much in the way she did to Vegeta months prior.  He had expressed disdain and then dismissal, saying they were bonded in a way that matters, but ultimately relented when she made her explanation.

“Oh.  Hunh. Not too different from Saiyans then.”

That got her.  Bulma widened her eyes. “Wait, what?  Vegeta said that Saiyans don’t have weddings!”

She glared at her husband who had lost interest in her explanation and had begun investigating the fridge.

“Explain,” she said.

“Royalty doesn’t have ceremonies,” he said, without lifting his head from the chilly confines. “Lower-class does.”

“Oh.”

Bulma hadn’t really considered that.  She turned back to Raditz.

“What were Saiyan weddings like?”

He looked somewhere over her shoulder before meeting her gaze again.

“You gathered in the center of the housing units and everyone played drums while the couple did a specific dance with knives.  Then someone chosen by the mated pair asks the goddess for a blessing. Afterwards, there was a feast. I was already born when my parents had their ceremony so I got to see it.”

“You remember that?” Bulma shook her head. “Of course you do.  Vegeta remembers things from when he was a baby, too.”

Other than some specifics (like dangerous knife dances), it didn’t sound too different from their weddings.

“So I have to ask him with a ring?” he asked.

She nodded. “Right.”

“Are they expensive?” he asked in that same blunt manner as before.

Bulma fingered her own ring.  It was bought with her money but Vegeta had chosen it, even had it customized with what he told her was the symbol for the House of Vegeta.  It was a reminder that, when he wanted to be, her husband could be very sweet.

“Usually,” she said and Raditz’s face fell.

“Fuck,” he growled. “I don’t have money and Seventeen’s just finished his courses.”

Big surprise.  Another Saiyan that didn’t want to get a job.  Even so, Bulma loved love and if she could help Krillin pay for a necklace that she was sure that Eighteen would like, she could definitely help Raditz pay for an engagement ring.

“Don’t mooch off my wife, weakling,” Vegeta said harshly.  He finally emerged from the fridge, a piece of lunch meat hanging from his lower lip.

Bulma pinched the flesh at the bend of his elbow.

“Big talk from the mooch who married me.” She turned back to Raditz and smiled. “I’d be happy to help you go ring shopping.”

She pulled the piece of meat from Vegeta’s mouth and placed it on the counter.  He made a discouraged face and then went to fetch it.

“Bold of you to pick a mate much stronger than you,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh, up yours, Your Highness.”

Vegeta growled deep in his throat and she worried, for a moment, that he was going to strike him, but he settled for picking his piece of lunch meat off of the counter and stuffing it angrily into his mouth.

“We’ve been training together since before we even got together,” Raditz said, lifting his nose. “And I’ve gotten stronger.  But...Seventeen  _ is _ the most powerful being to originate from this planet.”

Bulma frowned.  He was technically right.  She had the blueprints to prove it.  Seventeen was the more powerful android because Gero made him and realized that was a bad idea and adjusted Eighteen accordingly.  It was a bit frightening to think that someone that powerful was just...out there, but. She had helped him set up an identity so he could go to school to be a park ranger.  Seventeen had changed just as Eighteen had changed. Just as Vegeta had changed.

“At least you admit he’s stronger,” he said with a smirk.

Well, most of the time she thought he had changed.

“Would I even be Saiyan if I didn’t choose a strong mate?”

Vegeta considered his words and then nodded slowly. “Hmm.  I suppose you’re right.”

That struck Bulma little.  Did he consider  _ her _ a strong mate?  Raditz didn’t bring up her utter lack of a power level to mock him, after all.  Well, that was a discussion for a different time. Now she had to get into ring mode.  She stepped up and put her hand on Raditz’s bare arm. Truthfully, Bulma was used to standing next to Vegeta who was very close to her height.  Raditz was easily over a foot taller than her husband and she had to crane her neck up to look at him.

_ Seventeen isn’t much taller than me...he must hurt his damn neck trying to kiss him… _

“Let’s go,” she said.  To her husband, she added. “By the way, Trunks is almost done with his homework so you two entertain yourselves.”

\--

She could feel the jeweler watching them.  Raditz didn’t seem to notice since he was staring intently at the lit display.  The rings inside were as impressive as they were pricey. Bulma figured that if Seventeen was anything like his sister, he’d like a high price tag.

“Are you picking out your own ring?”

She looked up to see the jeweler raising his eyebrows at her.  Bulma held up her hand.

“Nope.  Already spoken for.  I’m just helping out a...friend.”

Raditz pulled a face. “If I knew going ring shopping would mean we were friends--”

“Oh, hush, you.  We’re friends now.  Live with it.”

She had come to the decision quickly, but it wasn’t hard.  As far as she was concerned, the more friends she had, the better.  And maybe it was the Goku-esque facial expression that reminded her just how much she missed her friend.  The jeweler smiled at them both before turning his attention to Raditz.

“Tell me about her.  What does she like?”

“Uh.  Well, first off, there’s no her.   _ He _ doesn’t really like jewelry except for his earrings so--”

“He?” The jeweler’s face creased. “I’m sorry, but we don’t serve your kind here.”

“My what?” Raditz cocked his head to the side.  Out of the side of his mouth, he whispered to Buma, “does he know I’m an alien?”

She shook her head, feeling her brows settle down in a glare. “No, that’s not what he means.  But what he  _ does _ mean is that this cheap, plastic costume jewelry isn’t for us so we’re leaving.”

The jeweler had the audacity to look offended when Bulma grabbed Raditz’s arm to drag him out of the store.

“What a piece of shit!” she snapped.

Raditz didn’t seem as angry, more confused.

“Yeah, I’m still not clear on what happened in there.  What did he mean by ‘my kind?’”

Bulma shook her head.

“He means that you’re a guy and Seventeen’s a guy and he’s not okay with that.”

He whipped his head back towards the door. “Are you serious?”

She nodded.  Raditz glared at the door and, for a brief second, she thought he was going to go in there and attack the homophobic jeweler but instead he just scowled.

“I’m used to being an aberration in Saiyan culture, but I was never mocked for it.”

“An aberration?”

He shook out his heavy head of hair and shrugged. “That’s a pretty crappy translation for it but.  Typically, Saiyans are attracted to form, personality, and strength regardless of gender but certain Saiyans are different.”

He said the word again that Vegeta had said earlier.  Oh,  _ that  _ was what he meant when he said that he knew Raditz’s intentions with Bulma weren’t romantic or sexual.

“I am only attracted to men.  Fasha, one of the fighters in my father’s squad, was only attracted to women.  Toma, my father’s best friend, was also only attracted to men.”

“Ah.  The word for that here is ‘gay,’” she said.

“Gay…” Raditz twisted his mouth. “I don’t mind that.  I think Seventeen has used it before, but I wasn’t sure what he meant.”

They began walking away from the store.  Bulma was lucky they were in what technically amounted to the diamond district in West City and they weren’t far from another store--one that was hopefully less bigoted.

“There are different words.  Like that Fasha woman could identify as a lesbian...and there’s bisexual, which--”

“So, Vegeta.”

She stopped. “What?”

His earlier words came back to her when he talked about typical Saiyans.  Oh...hunh. She hadn’t thought about that before. Bulma cursed herself for simply assuming he was straight because he was with her, but also how was she supposed to know about Saiyan culture when Vegeta was so reticent with it?

“Oh...I guess you’re right.”

“I know I am.” He grinned wolfishly. “Because I’m the one who deflowered him.  You’re welcome, by the way.”

Bulma let her jaw drop.  Vegeta had sworn up and down that he wasn’t a virgin when they were together and she hadn’t quite believed him.  But it turned out that he was telling the truth. She whirled around and grabbed his arm.

“Okay, please tell me everything about this I’m sure super awkward first time.  Did he scream?”

“He still screams?” Raditz rolled his eyes. “Of course he does.”

Bulma was so excited about this turn of events and how she could now hear potentially embarrassing stories from her husband’s first partner that she almost missed the purple-tinted energy ball that Raditz tossed casually over his shoulder and into the jewelry store.

\--

The next jewelry store was far more accommodating and, for that, Bulma was glad.  She was certain that there was going to have to be  _ some _ investigation at why the door to the last one was shattered and there was a crater in the middle of the floor.  Luckily, she had had the foresight to hurry Raditz down the street before the media and police arrived and there was no, clear way to actually link them to it since the jeweler was the only witness.  Either way, Bulma foresaw her having to throw money at it to make things go away but that was nothing new.

This was better.  The jeweler was enthusiastic and supportive when Seventeen was brought up and brought out several rings from the display so they could get a closer look at them.  Bulma figured that Raditz wouldn’t have much of a clue about jewelry and, for the most part, she was right.

She studied his profile and again noted how he didn’t quite resemble Goku but sometimes his face would shift into different expressions that reminded her of him.  She wondered if he missed him, too, or what the actual bond was between Saiyan siblings. Those were all too personal questions, though, and while Bulma normally didn’t care, she figured it was a similar situation with Vegeta where she would have to take things slowly in getting him to open up.

“So what is it about Seventeen that makes you want to marry him?” she asked. “Other than the ‘most powerful being from this planet’ thing.”

He didn’t answer at first, busy rolling a platinum band around his hand before shaking his head and handing it back to the jeweler.

“We’re already mated in the Saiyan sense,” he said. “Which I’m sure the Prince pulled on you when you suggested that ceremony thing.”

“Oh, he sure did.” Bulma glanced at the array of rings before them while the jeweler scurried to the back to get more. “But what I mean, I guess, is what makes you want to be with him?  What draws him to you?”

“Hmm.  Well, if you’ve looked at him, you’d see that he’s incredibly hot.”

She snorted.

“Okay, but what else?”

“He...cares about things.  Which you wouldn’t think but he cares about the environment and protecting endangered animals.  Things Saiyans wouldn’t think about but he cares so fiercely that I want to as well.” Raditz’s voice took on a strangely soft edge as he spoke, even his gaze looking more tender. “And he can vocally tear you to shreds and that’s almost as exciting as battle.”

She could imagine.  The jeweler returned with rings from another collection and she saw Raditz’s eyes zone in on one.

“That one with the stones,” he said. “They’re the same color as his eyes.”

The ring was a silver band stylized to look like interlocking vines.  Where the vines met were two, pale blue stones that did in fact bring to mind the icy eyes of the cyborg.  The jeweler handed it over but Raditz shook his head.

“Don’t need to see it.  That’s the one.”

The man nodded. “I understand.  Would you happen to know to guess his ring size?”

Bulma saw him look askance before holding up his hand and curling his finger in.

“About this size.”

“How do you just know that?” she asked.

“Uh…”

Bulma stared at him and then sighed.

“I refuse to believe that you can judge his ring size just from that.”

“Saiyans have a good touch memory.”

She shook her head so fast, she was certain that she was giving herself a headrush.

“I hate this.  I hate this so much.”

The jeweler seemed confused and Bulma was definitely going to let this poor man in on what was going on so instead she just put on her best Bulma Briefs smile and wrote the check for the ring with the promise that it would be ready by the end of the day.

\--

“Dare I ask why we’re playing voyeur?” Vegeta asked grumpily.

Bulma would have liked to say that he was in a mood because he hated being dragged out of the house in general, especially when he wanted to train, and hated being cajoled into formal clothing even if he cut a fantastic figure in his charcoal-colored suit.  She would have liked to say that and maybe it was a little bit true, but truthfully Vegeta was in a mood because he was always in a mood. It was one of his more charming attributes, and she meant that without any sarcasm. Except for right now.

“We aren’t being voyeurs,” she said, gesturing with her complimentary water glass.  The wine she had ordered was on its way and it could not come fast enough. “I want to see how the proposal goes.”

“I can’t believe you’re footing  _ their _ bill, too.  Raditz eats at least three times what I do,” he said, sniffing imperiously.

“And I don’t think Seventeen  _ has _ to eat, so it evens out,” she said. “And, anyway, who cares about the cost?  This is for true love, Vegeta.”

He made a face and Bulma lowered her brows.

“What?  I love love.  Why do you think I wanted to wish for a boyfriend on the dragon balls?”

At that, his sour face morphed into a smirk. “Do you want me to answer that?”

Bulma resisted an urge to throw a roll of bread at his head. “Behave.”

She lifted her menu up strategically and peeked around the side of it.

“What are you doing?  They know we’re here.”

“Because it’s fun pretending we’re, like, on a secret mission.” Bulma dropped her menu back onto the table. “Sometimes people have fun, Vegeta.”

“We had ‘fun’ right before we left.”

The projectile bread roll was imminent now.  Bulma exhaled through her nose and focused on the nearby table.  She had somehow gotten Raditz into a suit after they picked up the resized ring and he looked good.  Seventeen, of course, looked like an airbrushed model from a magazine. The scientific mind in her wondered if this was how he and his sister looked prior to Dr. Gero’s alterations or if he made them this attractive.  She typically hypothesized that it was the former since Gero didn’t even make his  _ own _ android body attractive.

“Does Bulma have to stare at us?” he asked, blinking his supernaturally blue eyes at her and then flicking his gaze back to Raditz.

“She’s footing the bill,” he said, waving a hand. “Let her look.”

“I guess…”

He was definitely suspicious, but it had less to do with her and more to do with the fact that Raditz had nervousness written all over his face.

“He’s so obvious,” Vegeta said, dragging her attention back to him. “Raditz can’t keep a secret to save his life.”

That certainly explained why he just outright told her that he and Vegeta had slept together.  That little bit of ammo, though, was one she was saving for later.

“Are you alright?”

It didn’t get past Seventeen either.  He tilted his head to the side and played a little with his hair as it splayed across the long, thin column of his neck.  Bulma shook her head. How could one person (well, two people, really) be so effortlessly attractive? She knew she was gorgeous but she also had a dedicated skincare and makeup routine.

“She also helped me with...uh.  This.”

Raditz reached into his suit jacket pocket and Bulma nearly slammed her palm into her forehead.   _ That _ was his proposal?  If she knew it was going to be so blunt and awful, she would have workshopped it with him.  Then again, when she asked Vegeta to marry her in the Earth way, she had approached it in much of the same way, but still!

He produced the ring box and opened it.  Seventeen looked at it and his eyebrows rose.

“Oh.” She nearly missed it but his voice wavered a bit on the end of the word. “I see...I guess that this makes this pretty redundant, then.”

Seventeen reached into his own suit jacket pocket and produced another black velvet box.  He opened it and Bulma could see the glint of the ring from where she sat.

“Is that a ‘yes,’ then?” Raditz asked.

The corners of Seventeen’s mouth curled up. “What do you think?”

A smile passed between them and Bulma felt her heart swell.  God, she loved love. The server appeared with her glass of wine and she very nearly shooed him out of her way.

“What’s this inscription?”

“That Saiyan phrase you taught me.” Seventeen tipped his own glass of wine to his lips and spoke it casually, but Bulma saw through it.  He had put a lot of thought into it.

Raditz seemed to get that, too, because he smirked as he slid it onto his finger.

“Perfect fit,” he said. “How’d you figure that?”

Seventeen put his own ring on and leaned forward on his hand. “Probably the same way you did.”

“Oh, come on!” Bulma cried involuntarily.

They turned to look at her and she heard Vegeta sigh with impatience.

“We should go somewhere more private,” Seventeen said.

“You haven’t even eaten yet.”

Raditz fielded that with a wolfish grin and wrapped his arm around Seventeen’s waist.

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Bulma sealed her mouth shut.

_ You know what?  Fine. Let them go. _

\--

Despite the lack of fanfare, Bulma felt proud of herself.  She had successfully helped two people get engaged  _ and _ she convinced Vegeta to take a walk with her through the park after dinner.  It was just them, the stars (or what stars there would be if West City didn’t have so much smog and pollution) and the crescent moon, hung like a crooked smile in the sky.

“You look way too pleased with yourself,” Vegeta said. “Why did you even bother helping him, anyway?  And don’t give me that ‘I love love’ bullshit.”

Bulma frowned.  She wasn’t sure when Vegeta began reading her so well, but here he was.  She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not.

“It is that,” she said. “At least, partially, but also...because of Goku.”

“Kakarrot?”

Vegeta stopped and looked at her, eyes reflecting the glow of the moon.  She hadn’t even thought of that as a Saiyan thing until she saw his eyes after they had had sex one night.  Goku’s eyes had glowed like that, but until they found out he was an alien, she thought it was another quirk of his.

“Yeah,” she said. “Raditz is his brother and.  Goku’s gone. We should build connections with each other.  I guess.”

“Hmph.”

Vegeta rolled his eyes and resumed walking.  His arm were at his sides and not crossed for once but Bulma didn’t try to get him to hold hands with her.  She wasn’t interested in pushing her luck that much.

“We had a good day,” she said.

The path winded before them, dotted with street lamps, but most were out.  Pools of light veered into darkness and the two of them moved through them.  When they went under the lights, she could see the way shadows carved out Vegeta’s high cheekbones and lift of his chin.  He was grumpy and rude, but sometimes she would look at him in the right light and the sight of him would take her breath away.

“What did you two even talk about?”

And sometimes she wanted to fuck with him.

Bulma grinned. “Oh.  Some stuff about Saiyan culture, why he loves Seventeen and...a fun story about you two.”

Vegeta stilled. “What did he tell you?”

Bulma moved away from him, her arms behind her back, deliberately dragging her feet behind her so her heels scraped on the pavement.

“Oh, just that he took your virginity.”

“What else did he tell you?”

She turned around, confused. “What else?  Nothing else. Well, other than confirming the fact that you  _ still _ screamed…”

Vegeta stood under the glow of a lamp, eyeing her suspiciously.

“That’s all?”

“Yeah.  Is there anything else?”

He turned abruptly and began walking down the path back towards the entrance.

“Hey!”

Bulma took off after him as fast as her heels could carry her.

“Vegeta, wait up!” she called “What else happened?”

\--

**_Twenty-ish Years Ago…_ **

“Aw, Your Highness, it’s okay.”

Raditz crawled across the bed and leaned in to rub his face against the side of Vegeta’s neck.  Unsurprisingly, the Prince smacked him away.

“Leave me alone.”

“Trust me,” he said, trying again. “A lot of people cry after their first time.  I did.”

Vegeta sniffled and glared at him, wiping at his eyes. “You cry at everything, you pathetic weakling.”

“You weren’t calling me weak a minute ago,” he said huffily.

“And I’m not crying,” he said, turning away to continue to wipe his eyes.

“It didn’t hurt, right?  I tried to be gentle--”

“Will you shut up!”

Something must have been let loose with that cry because a fresh wave of tears rolled down Vegeta’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just...haven’t been held since my mother.” He spat on the ground. “Nothing.”

Raditz frowned.  He couldn’t just say “nothing” after admitting that like he couldn’t hear him.  Well, if that was how he wanted to play it, then he could play along.

“Okay.  I won’t tell Nappa or nobody that you cried.”

Vegeta glanced over his shoulder and glared, managing to look intimidating despite his red-rimmed eyes.

“I know you won’t.  Because if you do, I’ll rip your tail off and stuff it down your throat.”

Raditz gulped and nodded.

“R-right.”


End file.
